SAMI Briefing Maritime Labour Convention FAQs and Text March 2013

C1.3.b. Does this training requirement apply to seafarers who are not covered by theSTCW?]. It should be noted that the transfer of seafarers training and certificationresponsibility to IMO does not include training of ships’ cooks, a matter that will remainwith the ILO and is addressed in the Convention under Title 3.C1.4. Recruitment & placementC1.4.a. Must seafarer recruitment and placement services be established?The MLC, 2006 does not require that public or private seafarer recruitment andplacement services be established. However under Article V, paragraph 5, Regulation 1.4,paragraph 2, and Regulation 5.3, paragraph 1, if such services are established in a country,they must be regulated in accordance with the MLC, 2006 requirements.C1.4.b. What is a seafarer recruitment and placement service?Article II, paragraph 1(h) of the MLC, 2006 defines a seafarer recruitment andplacement service as “any person, company, institution, agency or other organization, inthe public or the private sector, which is engaged in recruiting seafarers on behalf ofshipowners or placing seafarers with shipowners”. Under Standard A1.4, paragraph 2, theConvention’s requirements relating to private seafarer recruitment and placement servicesapply where there primary purpose is the recruitment and placement of seafarers or wherethey recruit and place a significant number of seafarers. In the event of doubt as to whetherthe Convention applies to a private recruitment and placement service, the question is to bedetermined by the competent authority in each Member after consultation with theshipowners’ and seafarers’ organizations concerned.C1.4.c. Is a recruitment department operated by a shipowner considered a private recruitmentand placement service?If seafarers are recruited directly by a shipowner flying the flag of a country that hasratified the MLC, 2006 then this situation prima facie does not fall within Regulation 1.4and the related Code provisions.C1.4.d. Who has obligations under Regulation 1.4?The majority of the obligations under Regulation 1.4 are placed upon the country inwhich seafarers’ recruitment and placement services are located. However there are alsoobligations placed on flag States (and shipowners) with respect to the use of seafarers’recruitment and placement and services, particularly if a shipowner uses a service based ina country that has not ratified the MLC, 2006. This is an issue that is subject tocertification for ships that must be certified [see C5.1.j. Must all ships be certified underRegulation 5.1.3?].C1.4.e. What are the shipowners’ responsibilities under Regulation 1.4?Under the MLC, 2006, shipowners are not required to use seafarer recruitment andplacement services and may directly recruit seafarers to work on their ship. Howeverwhere shipowners use a private seafarer recruitment and placement service, they must takesteps to ensure that the service is licensed or certified or regulated in accordance with therequirements under Regulation 1.4. This responsibility, which is subject to inspection andalso certification, is particularly important where the recruitment and placement service isin a country that has not ratified the MLC, 2006 [see C1.4.f. What happens if seafarers arerecruited from a country that has not ratified the MLC, 2006?]. Useful guidance is20 FAQ